Emergency Items To Pack Before Thanksgiving Road Trip
Nov 20, 2018, 8:09 AM
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Thanksgiving week is always a high travel time for many Utahns who are hitting the road to spend time with family and friends.
KSL producers headed up to the University of Utah to quiz students about what emergency items they’d pack in the car before heading home for the holidays.
“I’d put a lot of food!” University of Utah student Inakhshmi Rashid said. Another student, Ryan Duane, agreed, “But definitely have enough food [and] water.” And to round out the suggestions, one last student, Sia Suliafu, said, “A lot of snacks because those are essentials.”
These starving students seem to have their priorities, but can they guess what’s on AAA’s travel preparedness list?
AAA encourages drivers to pack items emergency preparedness items like extra food and water, a first aid kit, a warm blanket, heavy gloves, a flashlight, and an ice scraper before leaving for Thanksgiving travel.
Source – KSL TV
Several students read off the list: “Flashlight with extra batteries, drinking water and preserved food, jumper cables, tire pressure gauges, heavy gloves, chemical heat sources, etc.”
Rashid admitted, “I literally wouldn’t have thought of any of these.”
Basic items included on AAA’s list include a first aid kit, blanket, ice scraper, extra food and water, gloves, a phone charger and jumper cables.
AAA also encourages people to share their location with a family member or friend before hitting the road, and to download maps to your phone in case you lose cell service, or pack a physical map.
AAA encourages people to travel with a map or to download maps on their phone in the even they lose cell phone service or data.
Source – KSL TV
“Even outside my home neighborhood I lose service all the time, so that is super helpful,” Hilvitze said.
Utah Department of Transportation spokesman John Gleason warns drivers to stay alert in rural areas or long stretches of road.
“They can lull you into a false sense of security,” Gleason said. “You’re driving. You’re at the same speed. There is not a lot that changes as far as scenery is concerned.”
Gleason urges drivers to be cautious. “Things can happen, whether it’s a dog or wildlife running out into the road,” he said.
Gleason also reminds drivers to get plenty of sleep the night before they leave on a road trip. He says the consequences for driving drowsy could be deadly for you or for other families on the road.
